Pepper Seed Survey - Help Me Make Up My Mind. Please : )

PaulG · Jan 16, 2012

I have ordered seeds from several sources mentioned in the Vendor Vault. I have almost all of them in hand and am now faced with the task of deciding which to grow. I was going to grow a whole slew of them, but after reading through some of the discussion threads, I somehow feel I should be more selective. That's what's driving me batty! :confused:

Here are my choices, in no particular order or categories. Recommendations come from forum members:

Bolivian Rainbow..............................Yellow Peter
Nosegay............................................Trinidad Scorpion
Devil Tongue......................................NuMex Twilight
Yellow Jellybeans..............................Tom Thumbs
Wild Texas Tepin................................Black Prince
Black Pearl.........................................Chili costa rica
Explosive Ember.................................Scotch Bonnet
Chocolate Habanero..........................Jamaican Red Mushroom
Chiltepin..............................................Omnicolor
Red Carribean Habanero....................Orange Habanero - recommended
Aji Yellow - For Peruvian friend........Thai Hot
Inca Lost..............................................Fatali - recommended
White Habanero...................................Red Savina
Bishop's Crown - recommended.......Inca Red Drop
Orange Rocoto....................................Congo Trinidad

The bold items are ones I'm leaning toward. I have about 10-12 large containers, 7-18 gallonUS size, and about a dozen 2-5 gallon containers. I want to grow some small ornamentals for wintering over, and I want to try to over winter a larger specimen or two. I hope over two or three seasons I can find out which varieties are most interesting and grow best in my space. I have reserved some space for Serranos and Jalapenos, which I have been growing and pickling.

I would appreciate any suggestions, especially from Pacific Northwest or other temperate climate folks as to what a newcomer to growing anything hotter than Serranos should consider. I'm new to high heat, but I'm open : ) Maybe some are more/too difficult for starting out? Maybe concentrating on a few varieties is better? Or not? Help!

Thanks!

SocalChilehead · Jan 16, 2012

Aji limon or Aji yellow great in flavor and heavy producer. Orange Rocoto I am trying to grow the Red Rocoto but going to wait on germinating that one it has a great flavor from the one a member (Buddy) sent me. Good luck with your season and with deciding it is always difficult to make a line up and stick with it I made 5 to 6 changes before finally sticking to my current one.

SuperHot · Jan 16, 2012

Personally I like the supers and the habs, it’s just me.
Be careful of the 1 gal pots…they’ll out grow them quickly!!

woody3says · Jan 16, 2012

Do= grow that tepin. Great instant kick and she will put out a TON!

Don't= red carribean Hab. Good producer but the orange has a much better flavor to me. The red has a harsh acidic taste that I don't get from the orange.

Grow the black pearl for decoration only. I was told they taste like poo so I grew em and had to try one. Yup, tastes like poo....lol.

mygrassisblue · Jan 16, 2012

Looks like a great selection ! I think the Rocoto will do better in your area. Stick with the ones in the bold print. Find what peppers will do great in your area. Start some extras and if they want to be a pain germinating forget about them this season ! Have a great season !

RedtailForester · Jan 16, 2012

RECOMMENDED: Chiltepin, Trinidad Scorpions, Rocoto, Inca Red Drop, Fatalii
NOT RECOMMENDED: Orange habs . . . . .yuck

biscgolf · Jan 16, 2012

funny... the orange hab and the aji yellow are the 2 non-ornamentals on the list that i would recommend against. neither tastes particularly good to me.

the rocoto and the superhots will take longer to germinate and need a longer season than the others so keep that in mind.

my recommendations: fatalii, trinidad scorpion, aji omnicolor, bishops crown, either red savina or caribbean red, whichever ornamentals strike your fancy.

VS Tyrant · Jan 16, 2012

I have found the Black Pearls make the best dried pepper flakes I've ever used for cooking so I highly recommend them.

Indiana_Jesse · Jan 16, 2012

Orange Hab, Aji "yellow", Fatali, Congo Trinidad, and the Orange Rocoto/Manzano if you have cooler summers. I'm not sure which Scotch Bonnet you have, but if it is a yellow true Jamaican type go for that one too. Also, at least one of the Pequin/Chiltepin types should be included.

PaulG · Jan 16, 2012

SocalChilehead said:
Aji limon or Aji yellow great in flavor and heavy producer. Orange Rocoto I am trying to grow the Red Rocoto but going to wait on germinating that one it has a great flavor from the one a member (Buddy) sent me. Good luck with your season and with deciding it is always difficult to make a line up and stick with it I made 5 to 6 changes before finally sticking to my current one.

Thanks for the input - this really helps! I can see that it will take several growing seasons to get down to the 'best' choices. I will definitely try your recommendations!

SuperHot said:
Personally I like the supers and the habs, it’s just me.
Be careful of the 1 gal pots…they’ll out grow them quickly!!

I'm a little wary of the supers, but they are very intriguing to be sure! I'll definitely include something from the habaneros. Thank you very much for the advice.

woody3says said:
Do= grow that tepin. Great instant kick and she will put out a TON!

Don't= red carribean Hab. Good producer but the orange has a much better flavor to me. The red has a harsh acidic taste that I don't get from the orange.

Grow the black pearl for decoration only. I was told they taste like poo so I grew em and had to try one. Yup, tastes like poo....lol.

The minute size of the tepins is a way cool feature. Perhaps I could try to winter over a tepin-type pepper. I appreciate the warning about the Black Pearl : ) Still deciding on a hab. or 2.

mygrassisblue said:
Looks like a great selection ! I think the Rocoto will do better in your area. Stick with the ones in the bold print. Find what peppers will do great in your area. Start some extras and if they want to be a pain germinating forget about them this season ! Have a great season !

I'll try the rocoto. And keep in mind your advice about not panicking if something doesn't germinate. Thanks much.

RedtailForester said:
RECOMMENDED: Chiltepin, Trinidad Scorpions, Rocoto, Inca Red Drop, Fatalii
NOT RECOMMENDED: Orange habs . . . . .yuck

Thanks for the suggestions - interesting varieties, indeed! Looks like a wide range of opinion about the Orange Habs :halo:

I wonder how the Scorpions would do in the Pacific NW?

VS Tyrant said:
I have found the Black Pearls make the best dried pepper flakes I've ever used for cooking so I highly recommend them.

Interesting observation. Do pepper flavors vary a lot in their different forms - flakes vs. fresh vs. powder?

biscgolf said:
funny... the orange hab and the aji yellow are the 2 non-ornamentals on the list that i would recommend against. neither tastes particularly good to me.

the rocoto and the superhots will take longer to germinate and need a longer season than the others so keep that in mind.

my recommendations: fatalii, trinidad scorpion, aji omnicolor, bishops crown, either red savina or caribbean red, whichever ornamentals strike your fancy.

I'm beginning to see that the flavor preferences are very much a matter of individual taste. It is really helpful for me to read these comments and suggestions. It makes me feel like I have a bit of a direction! I'll include some of these for sure. Thanks a lot!

Indiana_Jesse said:
Orange Hab, Aji "yellow", Fatali, Congo Trinidad, and the Orange Rocoto/Manzano if you have cooler summers. I'm not sure which Scotch Bonnet you have, but if it is a yellow true Jamaican type go for that one too. Also, at least one of the Pequin/Chiltepin types should be included.

We are pretty temperate here. Maybe a few weeks of temps in the 90+F, and usually a handful of days over a hundred, but these are really pretty rare here. Even in July and August our average high temps are 80-81F, and Lows average in the 55F range. Every so often we have some nights in the 70's-80's if we have a real hot spell. Of course, these days, weird weather is cropping here just like everywhere else. I'll definitely take your 'cool weather' suggestions. My Scotch Bonnet came from Refining Fire, I think it's the yellow variety. I appreciate your suggestions - thanks.

wildfirefighter · Jan 16, 2012

if i had to pick three......trinidad scorp, fatali, and the chocolate hab....otherwise i say germinate half stock of each strain,..clone some for buddys :fire:

griff87 · Jan 16, 2012

I would definitely grow the chocolate habs, awesome flavor, and the bishops crown. If you are up to it you can try the scorpion. I have had some luck here in Buffalo with that. It became a bushy 2 ft plant with around 50 golf ball size pods. I would just keep it in a spot that gets a lot of sun. I am overwintering mine, as last year was the first time growing it, to see how it does this year.

PaulG · Jan 16, 2012

wildfirefighter said:
if i had to pick three......trinidad scorp, fatali, and the chocolate hab....otherwise i say germinate half stock of each strain,..clone some for buddys

Thanks a lot. like your idea about cloning - hadn't thought of that. I've done some cloning with Rootone with other things - does that work for peppers as well?

griff87 said:
I would definitely grow the chocolate habs, awesome flavor, and the bishops crown. If you are up to it you can try the scorpion. I have had some luck here in Buffalo with that. It became a bushy 2 ft plant with around 50 golf ball size pods. I would just keep it in a spot that gets a lot of sun. I am overwintering mine, as last year was the first time growing it, to see how it does this year.

All right, thanks for the suggestions! Your Scorpion sounds just outrageously awesome. How large a container did you grow it in? Do yo have photos showing the overwintering plant(s)? That's something I'm interested in.

griff87 · Jan 16, 2012

Mine were grown in a raised bed and not a container so that I'm sure made a difference. You can find my thread of my overwintering plants on here under the growing section in which there are some pictures.

woody3says · Jan 16, 2012

PaulG said:
The minute size of the tepins is a way cool feature. Perhaps I could try to winter over a tepin-type pepper. I appreciate the warning about the Black Pearl : ) Still deciding on a hab. or 2.

This will show you what I mean about production. At the end of this past season I stopped picking pods and resorted to just breaking off branches, hang em upside down inside, and pick off as needed. (Pequin)

PaulG · Jan 17, 2012

Wow. That's impressive! How old of a plant is it?

griff87 said:
Mine were grown in a raised bed and not a container so that I'm sure made a difference. You can find my thread of my overwintering plants on here under the growing section in which there are some pictures.

Thanks, I'll check that out.

woody3says · Jan 17, 2012

It's a first year plant. Was going to overwinter but procrastination kills kids.....

2gods · Jan 17, 2012

Red Carribean Habanero and Red Savina is very similar, no need to grow both.

Siliman · Jan 17, 2012

PaulG said:
I Bolivian Rainbow..............................Yellow Peter
Nosegay............................................Trinidad Scorpion
Devil Tongue......................................NuMex Twilight
Yellow Jellybeans..............................Tom Thumbs
Wild Texas Tepin................................Black Prince
Black Pearl.........................................Chili costa rica
Explosive Ember.................................Scotch Bonnet
Chocolate Habanero..........................Jamaican Red Mushroom
Chiltepin..............................................Omnicolor
Red Carribean Habanero....................Orange Habanero - recommended
Aji Yellow - For Peruvian friend........Thai Hot
Inca Lost..............................................Fatali - recommended
White Habanero...................................Red Savina
Bishop's Crown - recommended.......Inca Red Drop
Orange Rocoto....................................Congo Trinidad

Heck, grow at least one of everything...except....

I'd skip or relegate the ornamentals to small containers: NuMex Twilight, Omnicolor. They are kinda interesting, but pods have tasteless heat and seedy. Totally skip the Thai Hot ornamental, hot, seedy, not much to look at. As Woody sez, there are Piquins (Pequins) and Bird Peppers that have same size pod, productive, much tastier and extremely useful for cooking.

I like the flavor of the Congo Trinidad big time. Not so much the Orange Hab. Personal choice. Hopefully both will be big producers, even in our recently cooler climate La Nina bastid. My Scotch Bonnets barely made it last year. Very slower grow here.

Get your C. Chinense varieties started soon if you haven't done so. With your GHouse, you'll have a big edge. And add another Aji or two to your list! Good luck to you.... :cool:

PaulG · Jan 17, 2012

woody3says said:
It's a first year plant. Was going to overwinter but procrastination kills kids.....

Glad to see I'm not the only one :halo:

2gods said:
Red Carribean Habanero and Red Savina is very similar, no need to grow both.

Okay. Thanks for your help!

Siliman said:
Heck, grow at least one of everything...except....

I'd skip or relegate the ornamentals to small containers: NuMex Twilight, Omnicolor. They are kinda interesting, but pods have tasteless heat and seedy. Totally skip the Thai Hot ornamental, hot, seedy, not much to look at. As Woody sez, there are Piquins (Pequins) and Bird Peppers that have same size pod, productive, much tastier and extremely useful for cooking.

I like the flavor of the Congo Trinidad big time. Not so much the Orange Hab. Personal choice. Hopefully both will be big producers, even in our recently cooler climate La Nina bastid. My Scotch Bonnets barely made it last year. Very slower grow here.

Get your C. Chinense varieties started soon if you haven't done so. With your GHouse, you'll have a big edge. And add another Aji or two to your list! Good luck to you....

I share your climate related feelings :banghead:

I had planned on 2 gallon containers for some of the small ornamentals just for garden color. They would be easy to overwinter if it was worth it, I'm guessing. If some did have a redeeming value such as VS Tyrant noted above, then Bonus!

I appreciate your response/advice - very helpful. And I'm going to get those Chinense seeds germinating in the next week - thanks for prodding!